Short Summary

Over seven million refugees from East Pakistan have now crossed into India, and the number could exceed 8-10 million soon.

Description

Over seven million refugees from East Pakistan have now crossed into India, and the number could exceed 8-10 million soon. That was the report given to India's Parliament on Friday (30 July) by the Union Minister for Rehabilitation, Mr. R.K. Khadilkar. As he spoke, an estimated 25, 000-50, 000 people were crossing into West Bengal near Bagda Village--an unmanned point bordering the Jessore District of East Pakistan.

VISNEWS cameraman Durgadas Chatterji filmed this report of the new arrivals in West Bengal. Carrying their belongings, the refugees must camp at the roadside and await assignment to official refugee camps-- already overcrowded.

SYNOPSIS: And still they come. Twenty-five to fifty-thousand a day, refugees from East Pakistan crossing into India. It is reported that over seven million are now in India, and the number could reach sight to ten million refugees soon. These people are crossing at an unmanned border station between the Jessore District in East Pakistan and West Bengal in India. Ninety per cent of them are women and children.

Some of these refugees reported that a huge stream, of perhaps fifty-thousand people, was on the move towards West Bengal from Barisal, the south central district, and Faridpur, the centre district of East Bengal. That refugee pattern would tend to confound rumours that the Pakistan Army was flushing out people primarily in the border districts.

Once across the border, at Madhupur Village, the refugees spread their belongings on the ground for a rest. They will not be able to stay here long, for there are no facilities.

Further from the border, at Bagda Village, the refugees are processed. After waiting in long queues for registration cards and medical examinations, these new arrivals can be assigned to refugee camps elsewhere.